Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk

even tho ught about property taxes and if they weren't paid, the City would sell the house. Mother was always smart. She said Reggie and Shelby didn't ever have to leave their home." The dreamy look returned. "I always liked knowing they were close by."
    He was really disturbed. The loneliness of his childhood combined with his rejection as an adolescent, then falling in love with Reggie and Shelby and seeing them die -- all that trauma had sent him over the edge.
    He shook his head as if to clear it. "All right," he said with determination, "time to get this show on the road. Ashley, you untie Melanie."
    "It's about time," Melanie said.
    Somehow I didn't think it was going to be as simple as that. "He's not going to let us go," I whispered as I pulled the ropes free. "If you get a chance, run for it."
    "Stop that whispering!" Teddy yelled. With the gun in one hand, and the candle in the other, he motioned us out into the hall. "Open the basement door," he told me. He set the candle holder on the floor. The flame flickered.
    What if I kick it over? I wondered. Would it go out? In the darkness, we could escape.
    "Wait a minute," Melanie protested. "We're not going down there. There's a hurricane coming."
    Teddy laughed cynically. "Ashley, I'll bet you've got it figured out. Tell her what's going to happen."
    Melanie looked stunned. "What? What's going to happen?"
    "Get hold of yourself," I said. "I need you to be steady. Teddy's got the only evidence against him now. He'll destroy it. That means we are his only threat. The police don't suspect him. There's no reason for them to check his NYU record. They think you did it, Melanie."
    "And with you two dead, within a reasonable length of time I can come home again and finish decorating my house," Teddy said.
    "With all this rain, the basement could flood!" Melanie screeched. "Well, you're not locking me down there." She plunged past him, but he caught her arm and threw her to the floor.
    "You're not going anywhere!" He yanked the basement door open and snapped on the lights. The power was on.
    "Don't make me shoot you! Get down there now!"
    "No!" Melanie screamed.
    Teddy grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the stairs, then pushed. I saw my chance to run for the front door, to flee, maybe find help. But I couldn't let Melanie face that basement alone. I scrambled down the steps behind her and caught her. She was thrashing, trying to keep her balance as she slid down the steep flight of stairs. With my arms wrapped around her, we slipped and tumbled to the bottom.
    I looked back up the stairs just as Teddy slammed the door shut. The key turned in the lock. We were locked in. Seconds later I felt wind blow through the house as Teddy opened the front door. It banged shut behind him.
    "Are you all right?"
    "I think so. My backside is sore, but I don't think anything's broken. How about you?"
    "I'm OK . We've got to find a way out of here."
    "We're going to die," she wailed. "And there are spiders. My arms are numb. That fruitcake had me tied up all day."
    "I'm sorry," I said, rubbing her wrists.
    "You should be. This is all your fault. If you hadn't taken those files, none of this would have happened."
    Why is everything always my fault?

36

    "Who would have ever thought? Deborah Lambston! I can't believe it," Melanie said.
    We were sitting on the steps, trying to figure a way out. "She did make a lot of buying trips to Europe. She sent postcards and letters from all over Europe and signed them Shelby Campbell."
    "Are you sure there's not one window down here that's not boarded up?" Melanie asked for the umpteenth time.
    "I saw them all from the outside. They're sealed. And they're so high up, we couldn't reach them anyway. We've already looked twice."
    Even from the depths of the solid basement, we could hear the force of the storm smashing overhead.
    "We'll just wait it out," I said.
    "What's that?" she asked hysterically.
    I looked where she pointed. A silent stream of water came rolling up to the bottom of the steps. "Oh, no! Storm surge."
    The water came pouring in, rising fast. I pointed to the chalky line on the wall. "That's how high the water rose the last time there was a flood. If we sit up on that top step, we'll be fine. Our heads will be above water."
    "But how do we know the water won't rise higher this time? All the way to the first floor. We'll drown. Oh, no, look." She pointed. A rat was swimming toward our feet, trying not to drown, wanting to climb the